


Resolution

by wastefulreverie



Series: Angst Week 2018 [4]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Depression, Eating Disorder, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Resolution, Reveal Fic, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, ghost hunger, ghost vore, post identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 19:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17229713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wastefulreverie/pseuds/wastefulreverie
Summary: After his parents learned his secret, he knew that they wouldn't see him the same way again. Maybe that's why... maybe that's why he gave up in the first place.





	Resolution

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Diddly's Angst Week back in August.

Ever since they had seen him change, everything had been different. And not... in a good way.

His parents still refused to make eye contact with him more than necessary, and it seemed like they avoided touching him at all costs. Jazz had left for college, so all she could really do was express her sympathies over the phone, never truly understanding the extent of how his secret had ruined everything.

Maybe things would've been different, if he had told them first. Maybe things would've been different if he hadn't let them see the ugly side of him come out. But they had seen everything.

They had seen him as he tore the ectopuss to shreds, indulging in his otherworldly hunger that he tried so hard to suppress. They had seen him wildly take bites out of the screaming ghost, licking his lips with ectoplasm, eyes empty with relentless starvation. And then... when they shot him out of the sky, they'd watched as he fell at their feet and turned into their son, still moaning with the desire to eat.

Jazz didn't understand because she had never seen him eat. She didn't realize what a disgusting ceremony ghost hunger was, and how he was chained to his inner monster. But his parents understood _exactly_ what kind of feral beast he was inside, which was why they found themselves reluctant to love him anymore.

And honestly, he couldn't blame them.

He was both ghost enemy number one, Phantom, and some sort of gross ghost cannibal. Maybe one day they'd get over trying to pretend everything was alright and just go ahead and experiment on him. At least then he'd know that they were acting real. But for now, he was stuck in this silent hell of avoiding anything was wrong, because between the three of them, there was a lot wrong.

Dinner used to be filled with real conversation. His Dad would talk about ghosts and his inventions, while Mom would try to ask Danny what he had done at school, trying to encourage Danny to do better at keeping his grades up. Now that they knew, ghosts were a forbidden conversation and Maddie knew better than to chastise Danny about his grades. He was a hopeless case, doomed to eventually flunk out and devote all his remaining time hunting ghosts, failing to even get a GED.

So instead, they talked about nothing. There was no conversation. He couldn't even remember the last time they had a conversation. It was probably the day after they found out and was still trying to understand.

The only point of Danny's existence now was to fight ghosts, to protect Amity Park. He didn't need to keep up the charade at home, so most days he just left, opting to patrol in the sky instead. His parents never asked him to spend more time at home, so he didn't.

They saw him as Phantom now, their worst enemy, masquerading as their son. And thankfully, they didn't have the willpower to end his little act.

Dinner after dinner, breakfast after breakfast. Those turned into the only times he would be in the same vicinity as his parents. The other day, he accidentally bumped into Jack, and Danny watched as his father flinched away from him, almost as if he had convinced himself that Danny was supposed to be intangible all the time. That's when he knew that he really _was_ just another ghost to them.

It had been two months since he had last fed, and Danny was starting to slip again. He didn't want to do it, especially since what had happened last time. Feeding meant Phantom lost control, and he couldn't afford to lose control. He didn't want to add to his parents' suspicions that he was a monster.

Not to mention that if he lost control, he couldn't protect Amity Park. He couldn't risk his obsession.

So, Danny would go to school, starving, unable to keep down his cafeteria food for more than fifteen minutes. He was physically unable to eat any human food while his ghost half was hungry. He'd hide his eyes from the world when he knew that they were glowing in desperation. Sam and Tucker didn't suspect because he lied to them. Or maybe they knew he was lying, and they didn't care enough to tell him that they knew.

At night the hunger was the hardest, because it would keep him awake until he finally passed out from enough exhaustion to overwhelm the pain in his stomach/core. If he was lucky, he'd stay asleep, but many nights he'd be woken up to fight another ghost. It was frustrating, but he never complained, because protecting was his duty... and he'd fulfill it, no matter what it meant for him.

He continued his days of starving in absolute misery, until finally, his body wasn't even strong enough to get out of bed. He didn't know how he was going to make the hunger go away... but he wasn't going to give in to himself again. He couldn't let anyone see him be like that ever again; he chose to submit to starvation.

He wasn't going to eat. Maybe... maybe it'd be better if he just laid there and died anyway. Sure, his only reason to live was to protect Amity Park. And with him dead... the ghosts would just lose interest, since most of them came out of the Ghost Zone to attack him, specifically. After all, it's not like there was anything else to look forward to. His family hated him, his friends had strayed away, Jazz didn't understand, and he had no academic future.

Maybe dying _was_ the answer. And he was already dying from starvation anyway, so he didn't even have to do anything.

This was his fate. Danny decided to let his hunger burn out what remained of his life.

* * *

 

Jack and Maddie had noticed that Danny had been skipping meals lately, but they always assumed that he was choosing to eat alone, without them. After all, he was busy hunting ghosts, he didn't want to waste time with them. Especially since both parents believed that he blamed them for hunting him, for hurting him. And both of them were too afraid to try to confront him, afraid that trying to reenter his life would set off a bomb within him. So, they tried to give him space – but eventually, that 'space' turned into something else completely. In irreparable rift in their relationship.

They never imagined that things would end up like this. They never imagined that Danny was hurting so much inside. The never imagined that in trying to give him space, that they had left a permanent crack in his self-esteem, causing him to delve into cycles of immense self-hatred.

How could such a misunderstanding happen?

“Jack...” Maddie shifted awkwardly. “Is... do you know if Danny's out fighting again.”

It was 9 a.m.. She had just received a call from Mr. Lancer that Danny hadn't made it to school yet. She hadn't seen Danny leave for school that morning, but she never saw him leave in the mornings anymore, so it didn't concern her. ( _Except the fact that Danny's deliberately going out of the way to avoid me – that concerns me._ )

“I haven't seen anything on the news,” Jack frowned. “Is he skipping school again?”

Maddie sighed, “Yeah.”

“I wish he would just talk to us about this,” Jack admitted. “But I don't want to pressure him since he seems more comfortable avoiding us.”

“I know,” Maddie nodded quietly. “Last night, I tried to offer him something to eat, but he just avoided me. He's been missing meals for the past week... I'm sort of worried about him.”

“Wait,” Jack paused. “Do you think that he's purposely not eating? If there was something wrong, I'd hope that he would just tell us! This entire thing is driving me crazy! I just want to be close to my boy again!”

“Jack,” Maddie said, “ _I know_. I feel the exact same way. Ever since we found out about Phantom... I haven't been able to... UGH! I just hate how this is all turning out. I just can't talk to him anymore, but I _want_ to.”

Jack subconsciously looked out the door. “What do you think he's doing right now?”

“I... I don't know,” Maddie whispered.

“We could go up to his room and try to find the Booomerang. Jazz... Jazz said if he ever went off alone somewhere, that he keeps it in his room, and that it's usually our best bet at tracking him,” Jack suggested.

“That's... a good idea. But is there really a point in trying?” Maddie said. “He'll be back home or back at school before long. And I don't... I don't want him to feel like we're crowding him.”

“Mads,” Jack said, “right now we're the opposite of crowding him. I think that... if we want to change this, this whole thing, we'll have to start somewhere.”

“He can handle his ghost fights, Jack,” Maddie reasoned. “We... we can wait until he get's home.”

“You don't get it, Maddie,” Jack said. “He's our son. I'm _sick_ of waiting for this to go away! I'm sick of everyday of pretending that things are the way they were. Because things are different, but we need to address that, and then stop pretending,” he turned to walk upstairs. “I want to do it _now_.”

Jack bumbled up the stairs, Maddie behind him, trying to convince him from butting into Danny's ghost business. “I get it, Jack. But we don't have to go out and find him right now, we can wait and talk about it rationally, as soon as he gets back. I promise, things will get better between all of us, but-”

Jack didn't listen. He opened the door to Danny's room, and froze as he stood in the doorway. Maddie was still behind him, unaware of why Jack suddenly stopped.

“Jack, why did you-”

“Danny...?” Jack's voice was higher pitched than usual, and Maddie was afraid. He moved inside Danny's room a little more, and Maddie instantly understood why.

Danny wasn't out fighting ghosts, skipping school. He'd never even left his room, tangled up in his own sheets, face scrunched up in pain, tears continuing to streak his face. Maddie gasped and repeated Jack's previous exclamation, “Danny.”

He didn't show any indication that he knew that they were there, he only continued to silently cry in pain, dead to the world. His unresponsive state concerned both parents, more concern that they had felt in a while, and they both found themselves moving to Danny's side.

Jack hesitantly put a hand on Danny's shoulder, causing the sobbing ghost-boy to suddenly go rigid, “Danny, what's wrong?”

He didn't answer, and lay there like a rock.

Maddie brought herself to sit on the edge of his bed, “Danny... we... we need to know what's wrong?”

“Em sorry...” he finally rasped. “'as I bein' loud?”

Jack and Maddie shared a confused look.

“What?” Jack asked. “No, no Danny. What's wrong? Are you hurt?”

He was silent again. His eyes were still shut and he buried his face in his pillow again, giving a muffled, “Em fine. Go 'way.”

“Look, Danny,” Maddie said, “we know we haven't... exactly been close lately, but you're hurt and-”

Danny opened his eyes and scoffed, “'Been close lately?' Really? Izzat whatchu call it?”

“We-”

“No,” Danny's vocal tone seemed to instantly sober with a slightly bitter resolve. “I really wanna know. Is that what you've been tellin' yourselves as ya just go ahead and practically disown me? 'Cause I'm... because I'ma _monster_ ,” his voice cracked. “I get it though, I know what I am.” His voice got quieter. “There's no denying it that something like me just needs to _die_.”

“Danny! No, no, no!” Maddie said, horrified. “Do you... really think all of that?”

“'Course I do,” he shut his eyes again. “It's what you guys've been thinkin' all along. I know that that's why you've'nt treated me like your son in a while.”

“Danny-boy, you've got it all wrong!” Jack said.

“Stop pretendin',” Danny croaked, irritated. “Just go away. I didn't need these to be the last thing I hear.”

There was a scared, hollow feeling that rooted inside Jack and Maddie's stomachs at those words.

“Daniel Fenton,” Maddie whispered. “What the _hell_ are you talking about? Are you... _trying_ to _die_?”

Danny didn't say anything. He returned back to his despondent silence.

“Danny, please, we've been trying,” Jack said. “We just, we don't want you to – we didn't realize that you felt this bad....”

…

“Could'ya really not tell?” he asked, dangerously.

“Danny, whatever you're trying to do to yourself, no one wants you to go through with it!” Maddie said.

“Yeah, they do,” Danny hissed. “I protect the _city_. The best way for me to protect it now, s'for me to die, all the way. Jus' lemme starve. I _deserve_ it.”

And suddenly, all of the days of not eating made sense. What they had done to Danny, what they had thought was 'giving him space' had been misunderstood by all parties involved. Danny was hurting inside, and he was so hurt that he couldn't bring himself to do it anymore. Anorexia was a painful way to die, a painful way to end one's life, and somehow Danny had been so broken he'd fallen into that rift. What had they done? How could they be so foolish? How could they _fix this_?

“No you don't!” Jack yelled. “No you fucking don't!” He turned to his wife. “Mads, go get him something to eat. Something light, crackers. Those are the best for an empty stomach.”

And quietly, Danny started laughing. It was a morbid kind of laughter that sent chills down the parents' spines, making both of them freeze in place. His laughter was quiet, but the effort he made to make them, quickly caused him to break into a fit of coughs.

“Like human food'll help me....” he choked. “I'll die 'fore I feed again. Tha's the plan.”

“You're our son, we're not letting you die!” Maddie screamed. She put her hand on his back, but he swatted her off of him.

“When've you even acted like em related to you?” Danny spat back.

“We've been trying,” she responded, darkly. Tears were freely rolling down her face, but Danny was still lying face down, eyes shut.

When he responded after another pause of silence, his broken voice was merciless, “Well, you did a _good fucking job_.”

Maddie bit her lip, and involuntarily choked out a nasty sob before propelling herself off of the bed and storming out of Danny's room. Jack watched her exit with wide eyes, shocked beyond disbelief. She'd just... _left_. This was their son, and he needed them!

Danny heard the door close and whispered, “ _Good_.”

“You're not a monster, Danny,” Jack tried telling him.

Danny flinched. He hadn't realized that only Maddie had left his side.

We've never thought that about you, you know,” Jack continued. “Maybe... before we knew that ghosts could be good. But we understand what you are, and you're not a monster.”

“Yeah, I am,” was his quiet protest. “I was Danny Phantom....”

“You _are_ Danny Phantom.”

“Exa _ctly_ ,” his voice cracked again.

“No, you _are_ a ghost. You _are_ a human. You're both, and you're not expected to be perfect. Your Mom and I know that.”

“No, you don'. You're just sayin' what I wanna hear so I don' die, that way ya guys getta watch me struggle and be your rat in a maze. You know whatta say to make me happy, em not stupid.”

“You think we _enjoy_ seeing you hurt?” Jack asked. “Danno, you're making up stuff that's not there. I admit, your Mom and I, we screwed up. Bad. We haven't been there for you, because we were too scared of doing the wrong thing! This is... it's hard to know how to express how we care for you, when – when we don't want to give you the wrong impression. It was weird at first, knowing you and Phantom were the same, and we didn't want that weirdness to rub off and hurt your feelings. But now... I see that it _did_.”

“That's just an excuse,” Danny said.

“It is,” Jack agreed, somberly, “but it's all true. We should've realized, but your Mom and I, we're kind of dense sometimes.”

“Doesn't change anythin',” Danny commented. “Lemme die already. Or shut up”

“We still love you, Danny.”

“ _Please_ , you don',” he continued to protest. “Nobody can love monsters.”

“Stop staying that you're a monster, it's getting on my nerves. You're the furthest thing from a monster, Danny. You're a hybrid, so what? You have different pieces of two normal species in you. That's literally all that sets you apart. Not to mention, when this change happened to you, you didn't try to abuse it. You used it to protect people! You have a heart of gold.”

“I only protect people because it's my obsession, though,” Danny said. “Doesn't mean anythin'.”

“A ghost's obsession means everything about them! Well, not everything, _everything_. But it's what drives them. And you've always had something good driving you. Which means that you're not a monster.”

Danny went quiet again. Just when Jack was going to make sure he hadn't passed out, Danny spoke again. “Maybe not normally, but I'ma monster when I'm feeding.”

“You can't control that-”

“That's the poin',” Danny interrupted. “I _can't_ control _me_.”

“No, I mean you can't control that... that ectoplasm is part of your diet-”

“It's not ectoplasm, it's cannibalism-”

“Stop. Eating living things is such an ingrained part of human society, that we never think twice about it. Killing things to eat is _normal_. Just because your ghost side needs to do the same thing we humans do, doesn't mean you're a monster. You can't control what your body needs as sustenance.”

…

“Your diet isn't your fault, and neither is your body. You are _you_ Danny. You're amazing, especially what you do for Amity Park. Like I said, it's a poor excuse, but we were only trying to give you space to breathe after we found out your secret. This... these days of awkward dinners and silences was never the goal, the plan. After we got used to that routine, we thought you liked it. So we kept making the same mistakes over and over and over because we didn't realize how much we were _hurting_ each other....”

Jack looked up from his rant, and realized that Danny was shaking.

“Son?”

Danny finally lifted his head from where he had buried it in his pillow. He was crying again, but not from hunger pains. From emotional pain.

“I jus'-” Danny choked on his words, and the tears were making his face flushed again “-just wanted to be loved. Accepted. I thought you guys hated me.”

“We thought you hated us from when we hunted you-”

“No! No, I was the one who did everything wrong. You're just being ghost hunters, I though' that all the lies, and everythin', and I'm not human... I though' that I just wasn't... wanted anymore. _By anyone_.”

“You _are_ wanted, Danny. We wanted to make things better, and didn't know how,” Jack was starting to cry too, now. He'd been holding it in for about ten minutes, but when Danny finally started crying again, the floodgates were opened.

“Me... too. I was so scared you'd just abandon the act and experiment on me. You won't do that, right?”

“Son, that's wrong. So, so wrong. We'd never do that to you, _ever_.”

“It's just that... you used to say stuff like that all of the time, and it never goes away in my head – and I just wanted everything to go away in my head....”

“I promise,” Jack gave a shaky mutter, as he leaned forward to embrace Danny. He did it very slowly, in case Danny decided that he wanted to reject the hug.

They sat there for about a minute, crying into each others' shoulders, father and son. Somberly rebuilding their broken relationship, starting with the smallest pieces.

Then, the door opened.

Maddie stood there, in the doorway, panting and holding a Fenton Thermos.

Danny saw it before Jack did, and backed up against his headboard, terrified. He didn't have much energy to flee, so once she pointed the capturing device at him, it would all be over. But instead, she held the thermos firmly at her side, giving no indication when she was going to pull the weapon on him.

Jack turned to see his wife. “Mads, what're you-?”

“You told me to get something for Danny to eat,” she said, seriously. Her eyes still showed her vulnerability, her concern for Danny, but she held up the room with a strong attitude. “I don't care if he doesn't want it, I'm making sure my boy lives long enough for us to figure this whole thing out.”

“A ghost?” Jack questioned, eyeing the thermos.

“One of the animal ones from our storage units,” she answered.

Danny stared at Maddie in shock. “Y – you brought a ghost? Fo – for me to _eat_?”

“We don't want you to starve, Danny,” she said solemnly. “I understand that it's something that you don't like doing, something that you regret doing in front of us. But we're ectobiologists. We understand the way things work, we understand that we _love_ you, and we don't care what you are. We don't want you to be in pain, so if that means you have to eat a ghost to stay healthy, then we'll get it for you. Even if we haven't been the best parents lately. We _are_ still going to try.”

Danny took a deep breath. After having his first real talk with his parents in two months, everything still felt a little numb, but he wasn't desperate for death anymore. There was a spark of hope, a re-ignition that could heal him, heal them.

And to live, he would have to do what he hated: feed. But he'd do it for himself, and now, his parents. Because what they had said, was starting to make a little sense to his depression-ridden brain. Maybe it would make more sense after fed himself.

He looked at his parents apprehensively, still completely shaken up, and nodded. “O – okay. I... I'll do it. I'll eat,” Danny clarified. He looked down at his lap in shame, despite his parents' many reassurances. “Just... count down when you release the thermos,” he instructed. “And Dad, you may want to get away from me now.”

“We're proud of you, Danno,” Jack said, before moving to get behind Maddie.

“3... 2...” Danny braced himself. He knew that the scent of ectoplasm would make his instincts go wild in about a second. “...1.”

Mom pushed the release on the thermos. A green sheep ghost flew out of the device, and Danny's mind went fuzzy, causing his eyes to go pure green. Within moments, he had lunged at the sheep ghost and was trying to rip apart individual body parts with his bare hands.

Behind him, his parents watched, with an open mind. They would accept Danny. They would accept this. They wouldn't repeat their mistakes.

They would make this work. (And much later, they did.)

 


End file.
